Over the years, a great number of garments and related products have been designed for keeping people warm in cold weather. Perhaps, the most practical of these garments is the conventional scarf which is generally a piece of wool or similar fabric having a width and a length much longer than its width. Certainly, this garment has seen more widespread acceptance than any other such garment, such as ascots and the like.
Nevertheless, the common scarf does suffer from a number of inadequacies. For example, when it is being worn, it easily becomes unruffled, giving the wearer a less than perfectly neat appearance. Moreover, it generally provides the wearer with a great bulk of fabric around the back of the neck. This bulk of fabric is uncomfortable with modern clothing. Moreover, the effectiveness with which the garment prevents the entry of cold air onto the neck is not adequate, due to the nature of the wool of which the scarf is made, its natural ruffles when worn, and the fact that it becomes somewhat unruffled after a period of time.
While some attempts have been made at modifying the basic scarf, for practical reasons they have not seen employment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,150 to Rosenthal shows a scarf with a central area made of fur. While, to some extent, this does solve the problem of keeping the wearer warm while the scarf is in place, the scarf tends to become unruffled and proper alignment of the fur patch in the middle of the scarf is difficult. Moreover, nothing is done to alleviate the great bulk of fabric around the back of the neck.
Ascots solve some of the problems, such as the uncomfortable bulk of fabric around the back of the neck. However, the thin back of conventional ascots, which may be made of rayon, silk or a similar material, fails to keep the user adequately warm under cold ambient conditions.
An improved fur collar is shown in U.S. Pat. Des. No. 6,827 to Gross et al. This patent discloses a fur collar. However, the fur in this collar is serving a largely decorative function as it is diposed only on the outside of the collar. Moreover, this decorative garment does not keep the chest warm in view of the relatively small decorative chest ornament hanging from it.